Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to info@mendovoice.com.
Fire season approaches as the days lengthen and the grass grows tall. My thoughts turn to preparation, pulling the fire pump out of the shed, hooking it up to the tank and testing the sprinklers. Hoses, connectors and nozzles come out from winter storage and are deployed where they will be needed in a fire event.
Each year we try to upgrade or improve our fire protection a bit. This year it’s a tank and pump down at Pops’ so that instead of trying to protect two households with one system we have two separate systems so we don’t get pressure bleed-off. We got the tank in place, but I still have to attach the fittings and get the pump installed and the tank filled.
We’ve been working on fire clearance around the farm, helped by a grant two years ago that paid for shaded fuel breaks in some of the most dense chaparral between the households. The Mendocino County Fire Safe Council has been instrumental in community efforts to be more fire-prepared, and we’re grateful for them and for the assistance from the team at Elk Ridge for implementing the work.
Right now the men from Elk Ridge are clearing the overgrown brush on both sides of Bell Springs for the first several miles, and it’s awesome to see how much more defensible the road is as a fire break after they come through. Big shoutout to the crew for the incredibly hard work in steep terrain. The Bell Springs community deeply appreciates your efforts!
Yesterday the Bell Spring Fire Department held our first annual Pancake Breakfast and Plant Sale to raise funds, and it was a great success indeed! It feels good to gather in community and pool our limited resources to work together to support our shared protection. We’ll be commencing fire training soon, reminding ourselves how to use the equipment to put water on fire when it is needed.
As a plant person, my idea of a perfect morning is brunch with my friends (shout-out Dusty and Jess for crushing the pancake breakfast) and conversation about plants. It was great to see folks, and we raised an incredible $3,000 for the fire department! Reflecting on the experience, I am reminded that even in difficult times we can still do great work when we gather together in shared purpose.
The Bell Springs Fire Department is growing into a new chapter because of an incredible donation by Daniel Ryan, who left a significant portion of his estate to the department when he passed. Dan’s vision was a piece of land with a dedicated firehouse, and yesterday was a reminder of the clear steps we’re taking in that direction.
Last year BSFD purchased a parcel from Akua Angel, and the event yesterday was at the studio on the parcel, which is becoming a community center for gatherings and we hope will become a mountain school for children of our neighborhood. The Community Center is getting a new roof this month, and then this summer we’ll replace the siding and put in new flooring.
Again, thanks to Dan Ryan, BSFD is in process of constructing a large, metal building that will serve as a firehouse to store equipment and the fire engines during the winters so that they no longer sit outside, unprotected. It is a huge undertaking, and sometimes it feels daunting, but I look back at the steps we’ve already taken, I feel excited and hopeful for the future.
On the farm we still have a ton of grass to cut, but we’ll get there by chipping away at it over the next few weeks. I have high hopes that the possible rains in the forecast do arrive to soften the soil and save me some irrigation water. It has been warm and dry of late, and the tender spring crops have needed extra attention and hand-watering to keep them growing happily.
Last night, as the day drew down to dusk, I harvested roses for tea and reflected on the day. It feels good to be part of a community that shows up for each other, to share this life with friendly faces that I get to see regularly. I love the sharing of plants and plant knowledge, and I love the thought of how much joy these plants will bring as they go out to new places in our community. Despite being a vegetable farmer, I find the most joy from the flowering perennials and reseeding annuals; those are the plants that I am the most excited about for the people taking them home to their gardens.
Joy and beauty are antidotes to difficulty and sadness, and I draw deep succor from the returning of the flowering plants year after year. Seeing them get bigger and better with each trip around the sun reminds me that though aging has many difficult facets, the returning vibrancy of my plant friends is there in support. As I gather the roses, harvest the cleavers, mint, lemon balm and other plants for tea, I think about the cycles of the seasons and the cycles of life. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!
Casey O’Neill owns and runs HappyDay Farms, a small vegetable and cannabis farm north of Laytonville. He is a long time cannabis policy advocate, and was born and raised in the Bell Springs area. The preceding has been an editorial column. The Mendocino Voice has not necessarily fact-checked or copyedited this work, and it should be interpreted as the words of the author, not necessarily reflecting the opinions of The Mendocino Voice.